Redirect Checker

Trace a link's full redirect path, hop by hop, to its final destination.

What is a redirect checker?

A redirect checker follows a link the way a browser would and reports every stop along the way. Many URLs do not point straight at their destination: a shortener like bit.ly answers with a 301 to the real page, an http link bounces to https, a marketing link passes through a click tracker first, and a moved page forwards old visitors to a new address. Each of those is a redirect, and a single short link can chain several of them together before it lands. This tool traces that chain hop by hop so you can see exactly where a link ends up and how it gets there.

Paste any URL and the checker shows each hop with its HTTP status code, the address at that step, and the final destination, plus a count of how many redirects happened in total. That makes it useful for confirming a shortened or affiliate link goes where it claims, spotting a redirect loop, finding the slow extra hop that hurts page speed, or checking that an old URL still forwards correctly after a site migration. Long redirect chains also leak link equity for SEO and add latency, so seeing the full path helps you trim it.

Because browsers cannot read the redirect responses of another site for security reasons, the URL you enter is fetched on Reslug servers on your behalf rather than in your browser. The link is used only to perform the check and is not stored.

How to check a URL’s redirects

  1. Paste the URL

    Enter the link you want to trace in the URL to check field. A short link, an affiliate link, or any full URL works.

  2. Run the check

    Click Check redirects. The tool requests the URL and follows each redirect it returns, up to a safe limit.

  3. Read the chain

    The Redirect chain card lists every hop in order with its status code, so you can see each 301 or 302 and the address it pointed to.

  4. Confirm the destination

    The Summary shows the number of redirects and the final URL, the page a visitor actually lands on.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a 301 and a 302 redirect?

A 301 is a permanent redirect: it tells browsers and search engines the resource has moved for good, and most link equity is passed to the new URL. A 302 (and 307) is temporary, signalling the move is provisional and the original URL should still be indexed. The checker shows the exact status of every hop so you can tell which kind each redirect is.

Why should I trace a link’s redirects?

To confirm a shortened, affiliate, or ad link really goes where it claims before you click or publish it, to find redirect loops and broken hops, and to spot unnecessary extra steps that slow the page down and weaken SEO. Each hop adds latency and can leak ranking signal.

How many redirects are too many?

There is no hard rule, but every extra hop adds a round trip of latency, and browsers stop following after roughly twenty redirects. For performance and SEO, aim for zero or one redirect to reach the final page; long chains are a sign a link should be cleaned up or re-pointed.

Does it follow meta refresh and JavaScript redirects?

No. The checker follows HTTP-level redirects, the 3xx responses with a Location header that servers send. Client-side redirects implemented with a meta refresh tag or JavaScript happen only once a real browser renders the page and are not part of the HTTP chain this tool traces.

Is the URL I check kept private?

The URL is sent to Reslug servers to perform the request, because a browser cannot read another site’s redirect responses directly. It is used only to run the check and is not stored or logged for later use.

Own your redirects.

Reslug short links let you change the destination any time and see every click — no surprise redirect chains, no dead ends.

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